A rose to former Columbus mayor Robert Smith, who was appointed to the Columbus Municipal School District Board of Trustees during Tuesday’s city council meeting. No one can seriously question Smith’s qualifications for the position. His association with Columbus schools spans more than 50 years. A product of Columbus schools, Smith has served the district as a coach, teacher, principal and former Board of Trustees member. His children and now grandchildren attended or are currently attending Columbus schools. Moreover, his years as a city councilman (2001-2006) and mayor (2006-2021) provide an understanding of how the city and schools interact better than anyone. We believe Smith is capable and can be of valuable service in this new role. We wish him well. However…
A thorn to the Columbus City Council for the handling of the school board appointment. In choosing former Columbus mayor Robert Smith over current CMSD Board President Yvonne Cox, the council chose to disrupt the make-up of the board at a critical juncture, which we feel may have an ill-effect on a board that has worked together very effectively over the past couple of years. The district is currently in the middle of one of its most important tasks – selecting a new superintendent. Additionally, the appointment came immediately after the council heard a scathing 2020 audit report, which, among other violations, revealed the city exceeded their budget that year by $3.2 million. The council tabled acceptance of the report to give themselves time to properly digest it but voted to appoint Smith to the board without discussion. Coincidentally, the council members who voted to appoint Smith – who was mayor in 2020 – were the same members who were on the council in 2020. At the very least, Smith’s appointment should have been openly discussed by the council. That’s a disservice not only to Cox, whose service we commend, but to everyone who cares about the city’s schools.
A rose to Stephen Boren, whose firefighting training saved a man’s life in an unexpected circumstance. Boren is both a volunteer firefighter in Oktibbeha County and a firefighter for the Starkville Fire Department, yet his first rescue came not as a part of his official duties, but as a citizen responding to a crisis. This week, the Oktibbeha County Board of Supervisors honored Boren for his heroic act which he performed without fanfare on July 29 in Eupora. Boren was off-duty at the time when he saw firefighters responding to a call near his location and offered assistance. With the situation growing more perilous by the second, Boren – wearing only a shirt and shorts – rushed into the home, found a man incapacitated by the fire and dragged him to safety. He then assisted firefighters in extinguishing the fire. Boren never mentioned the event to anyone, but word-of-mouth reports eventually made it to Oktibbeha County Fire Services coordinator Patrick Warner, who brought it to the attention of the supervisors. We applaud Boren for his courage and service.
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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